Pretty Evil Paperback – 17 Jan. 2023

I had heard much about this book ‘Predator’ (now Pretty Evil). The talk was mainly of graphic sex and violence, and a powerful, sociopathic central character Camilla Black. It sounded like a book I’d enjoy, so I took the plunge. After reading the book I realized this story was so much more than just a sociopath getting high on murder and steamy sex with male and female partners. This was a book of entrapment, of loss and deep, deep pain altering irrevocably, the very fabric of a person.I’m not giving away any spoilers to say that Camilla’s out to deliver vengeance on those who rape, torture and abuse others, be them women or children. She saw herself as the avenging angel, delivering horrific and final retribution to the sick and sordid of society, and she acted in this way as the victims of these depraved individuals were too weak or dead, to deliver such retribution themselves.The snippets of Camilla’s life are dropped in by Zoe, the author, at opportune moments, and by her skillful, superb storytelling, do not detract from the scene at hand. These moments of revelation only seek to build up and enlighten the reader further on the power keg that is Camilla Black. The focus of the story is told through Camilla’s eyes, and the world is viewed through her lens. Her off handed, irreverence of ‘normal people’, her love of fashion and designer everything, her need to be seen to be achieving perfection, her acerbic, en-pointe humor, and her aggressive condescension to others, all pull together to form a multi-faceted, complex and total lacking woman.When I say lacking, I don’t mean that in the material or monetary sense, it’s obvious from the outset that through her past encounters she’s become very wealthy. Her lacking is of an emotional type. She needs to be loved. She needs to feel that she has worth. For inside, where no one to can get to, where she bricks herself in her emotional citadel, Camilla knows she’s a fake person. She’s just playing a role. Desperate to feel, but hollow inside.I found the author's characterization of a woman, who, as a result of suffering mental, physical and sexual abuse as a child has recreated herself and her life, to be an incredible force and yet someone who was believable, and strangely for a serial killer, very likeable. As a reader, you root for this woman all the way, and despite the heinous darkness surrounding her murderous crimes, you wanted her to evade capture.On each turn of the page, more is discovered about Camilla, and how she literally hit Ctrl Alt Del and reformatted her own hard drive. But that drive unfortunately had already been corrupted beyond repair. Camilla brought herself into the person she wanted to be, to escape the person who’s been chained in a garage by her evil father. It is clear from Zoe's insightful examination that her abuse triggered the psychological conditions for Camilla’s total breakdown, and she subsequently lost the power to feel completely. Effectively ‘killing herself’ to save herself. A mental disassociation from the girl naked and chained, to survive the ordeal and get through whatever else was to come. Handling trauma in this way rewrote her behavioral framework, encapsulating in her, in every cell of her being, a need for remorseless revenge.This could so easily have turned into Camilla’s revenge drive, a two dimensional psychotic tale of how the little girl lost takes down the evil abusers. I’ve read stories like that, and they haven’t affected me. Predator (now Pretty Evil) however, affected me greatly. Why is this? It’s all down to Zoe’s amazing ability in showing to readers the landscape of Camilla’s life. Those moments, those points in time where fortune was placed at her feet, offering her various trajectories away from the darkness, from death and her own potential destruction, but she never followed those paths. Riches, through various events were garnered, but even when Camilla achieved the wealth, to fabricate the charmed life she desired, it still wasn’t enough. Only when she was killing did she feel really alive, but even that, in the end, was a manifested reality that was only half-fulfilling her need.Camilla believed throughout, despite her calculated sadistic acts, she was still damaged goods. Inside her she knew she’d remain the victim, the magnet that drew abusers to her door, and the one who could never escape her past. This facet of Camilla’s complex psychology touched my heart. In many ways, she was saving others’ lives as she was taking them - taking out the scum that evaded justice - but she was a realist; she knew the authorities would never see the facts like that. Camilla believed she’d never really ‘feel’ again. She’s proved wrong, and this scene gave me such a lump in my throat, as it was obvious the closeness she was sensing during those intimate moments was turning into something much more. One can only imagine if Camilla had experienced those sensations earlier, how different her life would have been.The denouement (no spoilers) is jarring, shattering even, and had me rocked, open-mouthed whilst reading. And that is all I’m saying. In Predator (Pretty Evil), the author has written a fantastic book, developing a character in Camilla that you feel for, hope for, and in a twisted, slightly unbalanced way, really love. I thoroughly recommend Predator (now Pretty Evil) to readers who like their thrillers raw, visceral and exciting as hell!

Although this is the third novel I've read from this author, this was the first one published as we follow the life of Camilla, the editor of a high class London based fashion magazine and a part time serial killer of bad guys! There are obvious parallels with Dexter (which I love both books and TV) who even gets a couple of mentions, and Rhiannon from the Sweetpea series, but this story holds its own easily enough. It starts with a bang and the first half is largely backstory of her kills and reasoning, while the second half sees her battling - and largely failing - against her urges, however the police are starting to get close! I did find it slow paced at times and felt like it was dragging a bit, however it didn't stop me from wanting to read on to the twisty conclusion. It's very graphic at times and "not to be left on Aunt Edna's chair" (if you know, you know!), but definitely worth a read especially if your a fan of the anti-hero sub genre.

I liked the pace of the book. Every page was disturbingly enjoyable and the scenes well thought out. Nice twist at the end but would have preferred to have had the final kill.Cammila's past and motivation were logical excuses for her behaviour but I wonder if all that was needed. Just the realisation that the actions were required since the legal system won't go that far and has a tendency to reduced sentences would suffice?

Very bad ,rushed ending... It feels unfinished! Like the author got bored of the story and wanted to finish it as quickly as possible🤷🏻‍♀️

Next on my list to read.

Victim-turned-vigilante Camilla turns her life around, meting out her own special form of justice to the perverts who abuse women and children, and I'm with her every step of the way. Her latest act of vicarious vengeance is a little too spontaneous though, and Glen Wheelan—that’s Detective Chief Inspector Wheelan, tenacious tracker-down of murderers--is soon hammering on her door.It's a well-written and paced gory story, not for the faint-hearted, although even with my own stomach not being the strongest I couldn’t put the book down, in my desperate need to know the outcome.The highest accolade I can give this is to say that I wish I'd written it myself. And that I do not say lightly. Respect and recommendation of the highest order.

This book was so well written, I loved it, apart from the end. I loved the main character (she's not a psychopath) and the justice she deals out. When I got to the last page, I tapped my kindle again expecting it to carry on because the ending wasn't a proper ending. It was a huge disappointment to such a fantastic book. Hence only 4 starts. Perhaps the author was in a rush.

I LOVE CAMILLA!!! Angel of Vengeance ridding London of despicable male specimens. She is brutal with her methods! Absolutely bloody amazing as far as serial killing vigilantes go!! Her opening kill is just stunning! Just wow!!!!The way Camilla lives this double life of fashion editor and killer is brilliant. Her voice throughout is addictive. She has her clear boundaries where work and play never shall meet. Her victims are truly deserved of their fate but totally unsuspecting until Camilla draws them into her web of death. Then there is a third side to Camilla, her sensuality and it is HOT!!! A word of warning. There are some rather steamy sex scenes 🔥🔥 Camilla certainly knows how to have fun in the bedroom!!I devoured Pretty Evil in two sittings. I was hooked from the off, glued to my kindle as Camilla plotted and planned how to rid the planet of vermin. This is one brutal and sexy read (not for the faint hearted me thinks). Totally and utterly loved it! I for one would love to see more from Camilla!!!